Holiday fun
A buggy Christmas
Saturday-Dec. 19. Light show. A newcomer to the holiday lights scene, The Butterfly Pavilion’s “Living Lights” display starts a short but lovely run on Saturday. The Pavilion’s halls will be decked with twinkling lights, indoors and out, including giant ladybugs and dragonflies. Inside, special lighting will enhance the colors of bugs that glow under black light, and new displays discuss fireflies and “Bugs in Winter.” 5:30-8 p.m. nightly. The Butterfly Pavilion, 6252 W. 104th Ave., Westminster; 303-469-5441. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and Westminster residents, $6 for ages 2-12. Pavilion members get $2 off. Info at . Kathleen St. John
Sweet and familiar
Saturday. Celebrating candy. Seasonal sweetness is everywhere at Hammond’s Candies’ Candy Cane Festival. The local candymaker’s yearly holiday party takes place inside the factory — guests can watch candy being made right in front of them, and then buy some to take home, fresh from the source. Make crafts, listen to storytellers, sing carols and take a trolley ride: The festival is only one day long, but Hammond’s is making it count. Don’t forget to be on your best behavior: Santa and Mrs. Claus will be in attendance. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Hammond’s Candies, 5735 Washington St.; 303-333-5588. Free. More at . Kathleen St. John
Granny returns
Through Dec. 19. Dance. It’s been nearly 20 years since Cleo Parker Robinson’s “Granny Dances to a Holiday Drum!” first took the stage in Denver. This year, Granny gets a little makeover, with new show elements and even a new character. The dance performance follows Granny as she remembers the many holidays she’s danced for in her long life: Celtic Yule, Christmas, the African Harvest and more. The 19th-anniversary show adds an opening procession and The Ancestral Spirit, and more. 7:30 p.m. Fridays; 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays. The Byron Theatre at the Newman Center for the Performing Arts, 2344 E. Iliff Ave.; 303-871-6200. Tickets $38 adults, $33 seniors, $20 students and children. Advance tickets at or 303-295-1759, ext. 13. Kathleen St. John
Mountain holiday
Saturday-Sunday. Festival and market. Take a trip to tiny Georgetown for the 50th annual Georgetown Christmas Market. The mountain town’s quaint Sixth Street turns into a holiday bonanza, with an outdoor market, horse-drawn wagon rides and carolers. St. Nick always makes appearances, including one leading a daily Santa Lucia parade of kids. It’s the last weekend to catch the market — at least until next year. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Sixth Street, Georgetown. Admission is free. For more information, visit or call the Georgetown Gateway Visitor Center at 303-569-2405. Kathleen St. John
“Making Merry” twice
Saturday and Sunday.Tall tales. The venerable “Stories on Stage” presents two programs this weekend: “Making Merry in Boulder” on Saturday, and “Making Merry in Denver” on Sunday. Well-known actors from the Denver Center and beyond fill both bills. Saturday’s program includes “A Christmas Memory,” by Truman Capote, read by Candy Brown; Sunday’s bill includes “The Return of the Smiling Wimpy Doll,” by Jean Shepherd, read by Sam Gregory. Saturday: 2 p.m. at the Dairy Center for the Arts (2590 Walnut St., 303-444-7328). Sunday: 1:30 and 6:30 p.m. at the Seawell Ballroom (Denver Performing Arts Complex, 303-494-0523). $15-$25, . John Moore
Family
Sliding into town
Through Sunday. Ice show. Get a preview of the fun times to come next year in Disney on Ice’s “Let’s Celebrate!” at the Pepsi Center. The show features a year’s worth of festivities, from a Valentine’s Day ball with Cinderella to a Very Merry Unbirthday party with Alice and the Mad Hatter. 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. today; 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday; 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. Sunday. Sunday’s 5 p.m. show will be performed in Spanish. Pepsi Center, 1000 Chopper Circle, 303-405-1100. Tickets $15-$75, available at or at 866-461-6556. More at ice.Kathleen St. JohnDanceMixing it up
Friday-Sunday.Symphonic dance. Pairing live music with dance is usually a great idea, but Denver-based Kim Robards Dance is taking the notion a step further this weekend. The Colorado Symphony Orchestra and Colorado Children’s Chorale will join the 24-year-old dance company for a trio of “Colorado Christmas” performances at Boettcher Hall. 7:30 p.m. today, 2:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. Saturday; 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Denver Performing Arts Complex, 1000 14th St. 303-623-7876 or . John Wenzel
Classical music
Singing season
Today and Saturday. Choral music. The Cherry Creek Chorale celebrates the season with “Star in the East,” a program of traditional and non-traditional Christmas and Hanukkah music that puts an emphasis on music from the Near, Middle and Far East. Performances are set for 7:30 p.m. today and Saturday in Bethany Lutheran Church, 4500 E. Hampden Ave. $15, $12 students and seniors and $5 children. 303-789-5920 or cherrycreek . Kyle MacMillan
Bells are ringing
Sunday. Carillon music. No sound is more associated with Christmas than bells, and there is no better opportunity to hear some than the University of Denver’s annual holiday carillon concert. The 11-year-old Williams Carillon has 65 bronze bells, the largest weighing 6 tons, and they will all be put to use by DU carilloneur Carol Jickling Lens during an hour of festive music at 3 p.m. The recommended place to hear the free open-air concert is in the courtyard at the south end of the Ritchie Center, 2201 E. Asbury Blvd. Free parking at DU’s Lot 108. 303-871-6412 or . Kyle MacMillan
Stage
Kid stuff
Saturday. Super stories. One of the most remarkably enduring and friendly children’s offerings is Buntport Theater’s “Trunks,” now in its sixth year of presenting an ongoing live serial about young misfit superheroes making their world (Dendiggityopolis) a better place. A new episode is written and performed at 1 and 3 p.m. every other Saturday through April 30. This week’s is based on the classic “The Little Princess.” Tickets $5-$7, with a discount if you come dressed as your favorite superhero. 717 Lipan St., 720-946-1388 or . John Moore
Pop music
Red hot
Tonight.Alt-rock tribute. The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Blood Sugar Sex Magik” was one of those near-perfect rock records from the ’90s, so it’s no surprise that a bright group of Denver musicians are gathering at the Hi-Dive tonight to re-create the record’s funky punk. Rocking the role of frontman Anthony Kiedis will be a number of locals — including Yonnas Abraham of the Pirate Signal, Nick Sullivan of Peña (and formerly of American Relay) and others. Backing them up will be Luke Mossman of Achille Lauro and Jimmy Stofer and Nate Barnes, both of Rosehill Drive. Tickets, $11, are available at . Jen Korte and the Loss open the show. Ricardo Baca
Dead alive
Saturday.Greatful Dead band tribute. It was only a matter of time before the Dark Star Orchestra went all Foursquare/Facebook Places on us. On Saturday the band’s location-based offering, the From a City Near You Tour, will come to a close in Denver at the Fillmore Auditorium. Tickets, $35.25, available at . Ricardo Baca
A venue move may make CSO’s “Messiah” more moving
For fans of George Frideric Handel’s “Messiah,” the Colorado Symphony offers a twist on the holiday classic — a candlelight performance, off-site, in a Denver church.
Why the change in scenery?
“Artistically, Boettcher Concert Hall is great for something as large-scale as Verdi’s ‘Requiem,’ but it’s less ideal for smaller works,” said Scott O’Neil, an associate conductor who will direct the symphony’s two performances of the “Messiah” on Wednesday and Dec. 19 at Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church on Dahlia Street.
“For perspective, consider that the average concert hall in Europe is about half the size of Boettcher. With smaller works for chorus and orchestra, like the ‘Messiah,’ it’s hard to transmit sound in a large hall like ours . . . moving to the smaller space of the church makes it easier for the orchestra to sound more immediate,” O’Neil said.
While big orchestrations of Handel’s sacred masterpiece exist, the original is quite small. “A large orchestra . . . simply wasn’t available to Handel,” O’Neil said.
“Moving the ‘Messiah’ to Montview allows us to deliver performances that are truer to the composer’s intent.”
Because Boettcher is so vast and the side walls are so far away from the stage, the hall is best-suited to music that requires a full orchestra with the force to create a surround- sound experience. But for chamber music, where the sound is more concentrated and in front of the audience, a smaller venue is more fitting. “Stating the obvious, our ears are on the sides of our heads . . . which means that sound should be reflected from the sides, not the front,” said O’Neil.
“In a large space, the sound of a small orchestra never reaches the side walls. But in a smaller space, like the narrow shoe-box shape of the church, there’s more and closer surface areas from which the sound can reverberate. You’re more tucked in to the music,” he said.
The symphony tries to vary its performances of the “Messiah” every year.
“Last year, we performed a very baroque- sounding ‘Messiah,’ ” he said. “And in the past, we’ve delivered a more traditional, large-orchestra sound,” O’Neil said. “We’re actually just doing what’s known as the Christmas portion of the ‘Messiah’. . . plus the highlights, like the ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ that everyone loves.”
The 75-minute performance will be delivered without intermission and features soloists Yulia Van Doren, soprano; Jamie Van Eyck, mezzo soprano; Marc Molomot, tenor; and Robert Gardner, baritone. Also featured is the Colorado Symphony Chorus, prepared by its veteran director, Duain Wolfe, who splits his time between Denver and Chicago where he also directs the Chicago Symphony Chorus.
“I’m in my fifth season with the symphony, so I’ve heard the chorus prepare for the ‘Messiah’ several years in a row,” said O’Neil. “I’ve seen Duain perform, and I know what the chorus is accustomed to, which has helped shape my own approach to the work.
“While I’ll get just one rehearsal with the chorus, that’s sufficient because we have a unified concept to begin with,” he said. “All that’s needed in rehearsal is refining things a bit, which is a very organic process.”
O’Neil’s enthusiasm for “Messiah by Candlelight” is palpable. “I hope that nobody takes for granted that they might have heard this piece before.”
HANDEL’S “MESSIAH.”
Holiday classic. Associate conductor Scott O’Neil directs the Colorado Symphony Orchestra in two special candlelight performances of the sacred masterpiece at Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church, 1980 Dahlia Street. 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday and 5:30 p.m. Dec. 19. $65 and $85. 303-623-7876 or
